


snowed in

by sureimiku



Category: Tales of Xillia
Genre: Gen, Hair Braiding, Snowstorms, Tales of Xillia Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:29:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26342641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sureimiku/pseuds/sureimiku
Summary: Milla had important things to do— requesting an audience with the king, obtaining the wyverns to continue her journey.Being snowed in was definitely not on her list.{day 7 of xillia week; kanbalar/resistance}
Relationships: Alvin & Milla Maxwell, Elize Lutus & Leia Rolando, Elize Lutus & Milla Maxwell, Milla Maxwell & Leia Rolando
Comments: 7
Kudos: 9
Collections: Tales of Xillia Week





	snowed in

**Author's Note:**

> today is xillia's anniversary in japan (it's the 8th over there)! tomorrow is the actual anniversary for me, but i wrote a piece consisting of the entire cast and how milla gets closer to them :)

The snowy capital of Auj Oule certainly didn’t give up its reputation of being icy cold. When the party arrived there to seek the audience of the king, the winds only seemed to pick up more. Dancing speckles of snow decorated the storefronts and houses, leaving the city in a white blanket. Heavy gusts only added onto it, making an eerie sound as they made their way further into the city. 

“I don’t think we should keep going. Let’s find some inn to stay at.” Jude spoke up for the rest of the group, seeing how unpleasant their facial expressions were. “We’ve been walking all day anyway.”

“I—” Milla was about to speak up, probably in the manner of not wasting time, only to be interrupted by someone clinging onto her arm. The young girl was shivering and was desperate for any sort of warmth. “Please! It’s so cold!”

“The young lady has a point.” Rowen himself was beginning to realize how severe the storm could get, and how it would be wise to stay somewhere for the time being. 

The lord of spirits had no reason to decline. She let herself be dragged towards the inn on the other side of the city, which was only further from her destination. Not that she was entirely complaining though, the chilliness made her sneeze a few times due to the nature of her outfit, and they’d barely gotten a chance to explore Kanbalar in the first place. 

The inn was a warm haven, melting all traces of iciness. It was lined with dark ebony walls accompanied by dimly lit lights. Certainly a nice place to stay, Milla mused, but not somewhere to stay for long. At least that’s what she thought until the familiar staff user re-entered the room. “Well… we’re snowed in.” Leia had peeked outside to find any traces of the storm ending, but there was no luck. “We’re probably going to have to stay the night."

“We’re stuck here!?” Teepo shrieked at the thought of being barricaded by mounds and mounds of snow. “I don’t want that at all!” Elize looked panicked too, not that anyone could blame her; she’d never seen snow before, let alone been in a snowstorm before. 

“No, no. Once the snow melts away we'll be out of here, okay?” The assuring, soft tone that Jude possessed managed to calm both of them down. “I’m sure there are things to do inside the inn. Let’s go set our things up in our rooms for now.” 

With a nod Elize scurried up the stairs to one of the rented rooms, accompanied by the young boy and Leia. Rowen joined them, diverging from the girls to head to the opposing bedroom with Jude. 

“So… any idea of how long this storm will last? We need to speak with the king as soon as possible.” Milla seemed perplexed by the situation; they had _important_ things to do, and this certainly was _not_ on their list. 

“There’s no rush. Things like this happen.” Alvin wasted no time emptying his boots and removing his coat, which was sloshing in an uncomfortable puddle of snow. “Wouldn’t you want to take a bath and pretty up before meeting _his highness_?”

Milla couldn’t find a response to that. It was true, her hair looked nowhere near decent and her face nearly felt numb from standing outside for so long. 

“Okay, fine. We’ll head out once the storm eases up.” 

* * *

Needless to say, Elize’s once wavy hair was now littered with tiny knots and tangles. The bath had done a good job of getting the snow out and warming her up, but it didn’t dilute the fact that she had to sit there and _somehow_ work through her hair. 

“Here, I’ll do your hair for you.” Leia peered through the bedroom door to find the girl sitting by herself. She picked up the purple brush Elize had been fumbling with for the last hour or so. Teepo was perched in her lap, not speaking a single word.

Elize anticipated the brush angrily working its way through her mess of hair, but it never came. Leia had halted behind her with a slightly pained expression on her face. “....Can I? It’s fine if you don’t want me to.” 

“Yes, it’s okay.” Earlier that day the young girl had lashed out on Leia and didn’t realize how insecure it made her feel. An apology was given, but part of Leia still felt that she wasn’t needed. That led to a period of silence between the two, Leia scared to break it, and Elize not wanting to accidentally make things worse. _Someone_ had to talk at some point—

“I’m sorry again about earlier…” Elize gathered the courage to speak up, earning a noise of confusion from the older girl. The brush stopped moving mid tangle. “I didn’t mean it.” She slightly shifted in her seat, “I didn’t...think carefully. You’re a good friend to have, okay?”

The tension between the two of them finally seemed to cease. “It’s okay! I’m just happy we’re friends again.” _Friends._ A once foreign word in Elize’s dictionary. Too scared of starting one, too scared of breaking one. But now that she had quite an entourage to be around, the word wasn’t so strange-sounding as it once was. 

It didn’t take long for Leia to finish combing her tousled hair and work it into smoother locks. The feeling was nice; the only recollection she had of her hair properly being done was by her mother years ago, and by Driselle when they visited Sharilton.

“...Thank you again.” The words shyly came out of her mouth, but that was all Leia needed to jump back to her lively self. 

* * *

“The snow isn’t letting up.” Milla was pacing back and forth in silence. The only thoughts racing in her head consisted of _when will the snow melt away_ and _when will we get to meet the king_. She didn’t even think of settling down in her room for a bit. 

“Yeah, well, it’s a snowstorm. We’re going to be stuck in here for at least the entire night.” Alvin has returned in a tan-colored shirt, presumably the one he wore under his heavy coat. “You can’t even budge the door open without being met with the lovely sight of _snow_.” 

Milla only tapped her foot against the hardwood floor faster. Waiting was _impatient,_ it was something the lord of spirits couldn’t understand herself. Maybe if they hadn’t taken a detour in the highlands, or if they left earlier, they could have avoided all this. 

The sound of Elize’s tiny footsteps scurrying from the upper floor broke Milla’s current train of thoughts. “Look what Leia did to my hair!” She waved from upstairs, twirling to show off the tiny braids Leia wove for her. “Come upstairs, I can do yours for you!” 

Milla swore she could hear the mercenary stifle a laugh; Elize doing someone’s hair was definitely not expected. Well, it wasn't like she had anything to do anyway, so she accepted her request.

“What’s Jude and Rowen doing?” The young girl asked as Milla took a seat near the door. She couldn’t see anything outside, but the sound of the wind gusts getting louder only meant the snowstorm was getting worse. Sighing, she replied: “They’re preparing dinner. I think stew was on the menu.” 

Elize smiled wide. “Oh, one of my favorites! Let’s go help them!” She grabbed Leia’s hand, tugging her down the stairs and into the kitchen. Once again it was only Milla and Alvin in the room, allowing for a moment of silence. He wasn’t very talkative with her, probably because he thought she would inspect every little thing he said or pointed out. After all, she _did_ hear his plans back in Leronde while she was recovering. 

“Would you tell me more about your mother?” Milla was genuinely curious about Leticia, and how her relationship was with Alvin. 

“Uh…” The mercenary scratched the back of his head, averting his gaze somewhere else. “What do you want to know?”

“Oh, just how she’s usually like. I am interested in learning how she acts, in contrast to her son.” There it was again, Milla's curiosity about how humans and familial bonds worked. 

Alvin snickered at that. “Geez, you really think my personality is that bad?” He removed his hand from the back of his head, placing it on the cushion of the seat. “She’s...a kind woman. I was closer to her than any of my other family members. And she makes a really good peach pie, but I haven’t it some in years.” 

Milla nodded, understanding why he was so distraught when everyone found out his mother was sickly. She would have pressed further, and ask why she was sickly and why Exodus was involved, but perhaps that could be saved for another time. “Interesting. That’s all I needed to know.” Alvin sighed in relief, thankful that she wouldn’t ask about anything else. How in the hell was he supposed to tell her about Gilland or how he played a role in torturing his heart? If he did mention him, she probably would have drawn her sword in the middle of the inn without hesitation. All Milla knew about Gilland was that he was with Nachtigal and planned to disrupt the peace of Auj Oule and Rashugal. What she didn’t know was how he’d _slept with Alvin’s mother, how he made his life turn for the worse._

 _“_...Dinner’s done, isn’t it?” Alvin took note of the scent of spices wafting through the room, and before he knew it Jude had burst out the kitchen door. “You guys can come eat now if you’d like!” By the sounds of it, the stew must have come out amazing. 

“You’re right. Let’s go then.” Milla strode towards the dining room but not before turning around and saying: 

“I’d like to get to know you and your family more someday.” Alvin couldn’t even reply before she walked off. Someday was not coming anytime soon.

* * *

“Oh, wasn’t that just delicious?” Leia stretched out happily. “I know how Jude is in the kitchen, didn’t know Rowen cooked so well!”

Rowen laughed, “oh, please. It’s been some months since I’ve been in the kitchen. But I did assist Lord Cline in cooking the finest meals in the town.” He was cleaning the dishes alongside Jude. “The kitchen here has quite the array of spices, I must say.” 

Milla was still seated in her chair, pondering about several things. Not just the next step of their journey, but also Alvin, Exodus, and her own companions. In the end, the positives outweighed the negatives, so she spent the night being whisked away by the girls. “You can do my hair if you’d like, Elize. I am interested in how you humans come up with different hairstyles.” 

The young girl jumped with excitement, grabbing Teepo with her. It was wonderful, how Milla went from thinking of Elize as a setback to valuing her as not just a battle partner, but as a full-fledged friend. “Okay, meet me in the room on the left when you’re ready!” 

“She cares about you, you know.” Leia had finished cleaning the table and spread the cloth back in place. “When I was doing her hair, she told me how much you meant to her. She’s really happy you let her come on the journey.” Milla gaped at her before letting out a soft smile. This group of friends was… an odd bunch, for sure. Alvin with his past that no one knew about, an old man who was somehow a conductor of wars, a talking plush… but in the end, she came to appreciate all of them and their faults. “I know, I know. I’m hoping my hair doesn’t go haywire in a moment,” Milla joked. “I’ll see you in a bit.” 

She wasn't sure what to expect when she entered the room. “...What are these?” Milla picked up a soft band of some sort, and next to it were all sorts of items; hair spray, brushes, combs. At this point she would have guessed that her hairstyling wasn’t really going to be styling; it would be an experiment of some sort instead. “Those are hair ties. They keep your hair up.” Teepo chimed in, “you can make a bun or braids with them!”

Milla’s face read of both amusement and wonder. How did humans manage to come up with such...creative inventions? “Okay. Do what you must.” Milla’s hair was twice— no, maybe thrice the length of Elize’s, leaving got even more styling possibilities. Elize only knew how to do a basic braid from Driselle, so she stuck with that. She pulled and tugged at a few knots, which didn’t seem to bother Milla at all.

“How do you keep your hair so long and healthy?” Elize asked with curiosity. Milla shrugged, “the Four did all the hair care for me. I didn’t mess it up as often either; though, once I got a bunch of mud in it, and Undine grumbled for hours.” 

The young girl giggled at the sight of the water spirit scolding Milla for improper hair care. But again, it made sense— Undine probably took care of washing the lord of spirit’s hair, so having to deal with mud didn’t sound exactly pleasant. 

Elize had begun intersecting Milla’s hair into three sections when a question stopped her; the older woman had taken note of what Leia spoke in the dining room. “Elize, are you having fun on this journey?” The brush smoothing her hair stopped, but then continued after a moment of silence. “Yes, I have. I’ve been able to make friends because I came with you guys.”

“Is that all?”

Milla couldn’t see, but Elize’s face scrunched up a bit. “When I was in Hamil, they called me a freak and evil for using spirit artes at such a young age. Some of them wouldn’t even talk to me if I used them, so I never cast artes since then. Being able to use them now makes me feel...helpful, for once.” Milla felt pity for the girl; at such a young age she was so talented, and for the townspeople to let that talent go to waste...it was awful. 

“Your artes help us a lot, Elize. I am truly thankful that you came along with us.” All it took were those few words to restore Elize’s confidence. It had been so long since someone told her she was appreciated, it was almost sad to think about that in the first place. In response to Milla’s words, she worked twice as hard with her hair, determined to make it the prettiest braid she’d ever seen. A tug here and a twist there, and soon her work was done. 

“Take a look!” Elize handed her a pink mirror, and she swore she saw Milla’s eyes sparkle; the braid wasn’t the neatest, but throughout there were small ribbons laced between strands. Colors of red and purple swam throughout her hair, perfect to compliment her outfit. “It looks lovely, Elize.” Her words were one hundred percent honest; as she said, only the Four had ever done her hair. Having it done with actual hands— by someone, she came to cherish— it was such a treat. 

After giving a proper thank you, Milla slipped into bed, content with the day’s accomplishments. Sure, they hadn’t been able to see the king and warn him about the war and hollow, but that only gave her time to spend with her group companions. 

_Maybe_ , she thought, _being snowed in isn’t so bad._


End file.
